Weekend Preview: Rocky Horror, Adam Lambert and Kinky

CAN WE BE FRANK?If you are one of those people who struggle to understand the allure of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” this weekend offers a course in Frank N’ Furter 101 at the Gateway Theatre (1820 E Sunrise Blvd., Fort Lauderdale; 954-763-7994).

At Saturday’s regular midnight screening of “Rocky Horror,” original members of the Deerfield Beach Ultravision Theatre shadowcast from 1982-83 will gather to celebrate a tell-all book about their contributions to the era. “Confessions of a Transylvanian” (Berwick Court Publishing) was written by former cast members Kevin Theis and Ron Fox, who will lurk around signing copies of the book beginning at 10:30 p.m. Theis is now an actor, director and writer living in Chicago, and Fox an actor, writer and stunt performer in Orlando.

As kooky as this sounds, the book received strong reviews from the “Rocky” legions around the country when it was published last year. And that has to be a tough crowd.

Says Theis in a publicity blurb: “It seems strange to make the case that, for two teenage boys, spending our weekend nights at midnight putting on makeup, pulling on ladies stockings and strapping into bustiers could wind up giving us both a well-rounded, stable and healthy education yet … that was certainly the case for us.”

Speaking from Chicago this week, Theis, a 1983 graduate of Zion Lutheran Christian School, calls the book an attempt to “capture the essence of what it was like to do the ‘Rocky Horror’ shadowcast” and “a love letter to the old cast members on our 30th anniversary.”

Theis says he is both surprised at the film’s enduring appeal and he’s not: “There is a theme in the film that says it’s OK for people to be different, to be out of the mainstream. This movie still attracts people who aren’t the popular kid at school, not on the football team, not on the cheerleader squad, which is the majority of kids at school. [A screening of the film] is a place where you can be yourself and nobody will judge you. How many places are there like that on Earth?”

While he’s got no idea how many of the 30 or so members of the old gang from the Deerfield Beach Ultravision Theatre will show up at the Gateway on Saturday, Theis said many of them went all the way to Chicago for the publication party in last year. And there was a large turnout for the cast’s 25-anniversary reunion performance at the Flipper’s theater in Pompano Beach. It’s a scene that makes the final chapter of “Confessions of a Transylvanian.”

Theis admits it’s difficult to get “Rocky” out of your blood. Or maybe he means Riff Raff, which was Theis’ specialty role in the old days. While he won’t be dressing up when he and Fox watch the Gateway screening of “Rocky Horror” on Saturday, he hasn’t totally retired.

“I have been invited to play Riff Raff at the Wilmette Theatre in Chicago in May,” Theis says. “So I’ll put on the old tails and give it another try.”

OUT LIKE A LAMBERTThe grand marshal for Sunday’s fifth annual edition of Miami Beach Gay Pride is, fittingly, Mayor Matti Herrera Bower, who was the driving force behind creating the event. But how much attention is anyone going to get when Adam Lambert is standing next to you? The (still) relentlessly (curiously?) popular former “American Idol” contestant will bring the daylong Ocean Drive festivities to a close with a performance in Lummus Park at 8 p.m. The over-under on attendance for the event, which has grown from 15,000 spectators in 2009 to 60,000 last year, is 75,000. Take the over. Info: MiamiBeachGayPride.com. Here's the singer-songwriter side of Lambert that you don't see very often.

CHESNEY OR CHURCH?On Friday at 10 a.m. single-day tickets will go on sale for the Tortuga Music Festival on Fort Lauderdale beach April 13-14. Tickets to the concerts, which include Kenny Chesney as the headliner on Day 1 and Eric Church on Day 2, will be $99 (plus fees) per day or $149 for a two-day pass. Ticket info and the full schedule of Tortuga artist performance times can be found at TortugaMusicFestival.com.

CAR TALKThe 22nd annual Fort Lauderdale International Auto Show runs through Sunday at the Broward County Convention Center (1950 Eisenhower Blvd., Fort Lauderdale), offering more than 500 new cars, motorcycles, trucks and SUVs, from Buicks and Subarus to Jaguars and Lamborghinis. Hours are 3-11 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday. Tickets: $8, kids 6-12. Worth noting: The show has raised $3 million for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Broward County since 1991. Info: FTLauderdaleAutoShow.com. But car buffs will also want to think about the Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach Auction Friday and Saturday at the South Florida Fairgrounds (9067 Southern Blvd., West Palm Beach), offering hundreds of rare and exotic hot rods and collectibles, including a 1950 Willys Jeepster Convertible, a 1959 Harley-Davidson Hummer motorcycle and a cherry 1979 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, with the bird and less than 9,000 miles on it. A guy can dream can’t he? Info: Barrett-Jackson.com/PalmBeach.

STARS AND BARSGiralda Under the Stars, the monthy Coral Gables celebration of the boulevardier lifestyle, returns on Friday as the streets are closed to traffic, restaurants set up their tables outside and urban bonhomie reigns. The Bar (172 Giralda) will add spice to the event by hosting the Spam Allstars at 9:30 p.m., but you can expect the vibe on the 100 block of Giralda (between Ponce de Leon and Galiano) to continue past midnight. Info: CoralGables.com. On Saturday you’ll find the Spam Allstars across town at the no-less-exuberant PAX (337 SW Eighth St., Miami) for an 11 p.m. show. Info: PAXMiami.com, SpamAllStars.com.

COOL HEINEKENThe Rhythm Foundation offers its usual adventurousness this weekend with the Heineken Transatlantic Festival at the North Beach Bandshell (7275 Collins Ave., Miami Beach). The Friday lineup includes the Hongs and the “Argentine/Uruguayan electrotango collective” Bajofondo, followed Saturday by the consistently excellent Bomba Estereo from Bogota, Zuzuka Poderosa, Kush Arora and Miami’s own Krisp (below). Tickets: $23, weekend pass $35. The after-party is down the street at Sandbar Lounge (6752 Collins Ave.). Info: 305-672-5202 TransAtlanticFestival.com.

URBAN RENEWALHow’s this work, ladies? Keith Urban … Still a hot ticket, right? The four-time Grammy Award winner and “American Idol” judge will bring his “Light the Fuse Tour” to the Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach on Oct. 5, with tickets on sale 10 a.m. Friday. Openers are Little Big Town and Dustin Lynch. Cost: $25 (general admission lawn), $39.75 and $54.75 reserved at the box office, LiveNation.com, Ticketmaster locations and at 800-745-3000.

SWING SHIFTThe Texas Gypsies’ vintage spin on Western swing music charmed their home-state Dallas Morning News to effusively use Bob Wills and Django Reinhardt in the same sentence. Good enough for us. The band plays Saturday night at the Arts Garage (180 NE First St., Delray Beach). Tickets: $25-$40. Info: 561-450-6357, ArtsGarage.org.

GAYLE WARNINGCrystal Gayle — remarkable voice, remarkable hair, 18 Billboard No. 1 hits and a spot among People magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People — was the Taylor Swift of her generation. Gayle, now 62, performs 8 p.m. Friday at Seminole Casino Coconut Creek (tickets $29.55-$45.90 via Ticketmaster) a few days before Swift’s Wednesday performance at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami ($46.55-$104.35).

AFFAIR TO REMEMBERThere are many reasons to hang out in Delray Beach on a weekend afternoon, but here comes one of the best. The Delray Affair, now in its 51st year, brings food and drink, art and music and great moseying to Atlantic Avenue from A1A to Swinton. As always, admission is free. Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday. Info: 561-279-0907 or DelrayAffair.com.